News and Images from House 2A

Special Thanks go out to Kimber Fitzmorgan! Her energy and devotion to Geshe Tenley, the Dharma as well as the monks, nuns and students we sponsor is absolutely amazing. We can't thank you enough Kimber for all that you do!

Bill and Andrea Judge visited the Kurukulla Centerand had a wonderful visit with Geshe Tenley and Sean Gonzales. The common goals of the two organizations were discussed and ways of bringing us even closer together in our common goals of fulfilling Geshe Tsulga’s wishes. One of the most immediate results was the addition of Debra Thornburg and Jane Larsson to our Board of Directors. There is so much more to come!

GTNP Welcomes two new members to the Board of Directors!

We are thrilled that Jane Larsson and Debra Thornburg have agreed to join our Board of Directors. The talent, energy and devotion to the Dharma they bring will surely help the seeds of compassion grow as we strive to fulfill the wishes of our beloved teacher, Geshe Tsulga.

For those of you fortunate enough to attend the wonderful teaching at the Kurukulla Center I am sure you will have the opportunity to speak with them about the GTNP and our vision future.

Jane Larsson:

I became a student of Geshe Tsulga in 1998 and took refuge vows with him in 1999. I continued to study Buddhism under Geshe-la’s guidance and quickly became an active member of Kurukulla Center. I was a member of the committee to find and purchase a permanent home for Geshe-la and the Center in Medford. I have continued to support Kurukulla Center and today is a member of their Board of Directors.

In 2008, I visited Sera Je with Geshe Tsulga to attend the ceremonies in which Geshe Tenley received his Geshe degree. After returning from that trip, I began sponsoring a monk from House #2A.

Additional Information:

After receiving an MBA, I worked for Fidelity Investments for 14 years, holding marketing positions in their retail and institutional businesses. I also earned a Financial Planning Certificate. Since 2001 I have operated Larsson Gardening in Provincetown and in the winter, work for a small accounting firm completing Federal and State tax returns for individuals.

Debra Thornburg

I first made contact with Geshe Tsulga and Kurukulla Center nearly 20 years ago after coming across a flyer announcing weekly classes with a Tibetan Buddhist lama. Having trained in the Theravada/Burmese vipassana tradition, my curiosity to learn more about Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism was piqued. The detailed commentaries and explanation Geshe Tsulga provided during his twice weekly events inspired me to become a regular attendee. With time, I assumed responsibilities at the center, such as ferrying the portable bookstore back and forth between my home and Friends Meeting in Cambridge where Geshe-la taught before we acquired our own building, driving Geshe-la to Milarepa Center for teaching retreats and occasionally cleaning his apt. Later I joined the Spiritual Program committee and eventually served as the Coordinator of this committee.

It was a tremendous honor when Geshe-la agreed to teach the FPMT’s Basic Program, a 12-course curriculum of standard texts and commentaries. With time I saw that the deep level of commitment this program required brought tremendous benefits. If it could do this for Westerners who pursued it on a part – time basis, how much more could study do for the monks and nuns living in the monastery? When the opportunity arose to contribute to their support, I was quite happy to become part of the monk sponsorship program for House 2A.

With time, we lost our beloved teacher Geshe Tsulga. I am very happy that his passing did not bring the monk sponsorship program to an end. I hope that Kurukulla Center will continue to be the locus of sponsorship and that we can also involve younger students who lacked the good fortune to meet Geshe Tsulga.